Dental articulator or relator



Aug. 7, 1923. 1,464,474-

J.- HOMER DENTAL ARTICULATOR OR RELATOR Filed 06 l, 1921 Zfiheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 7, 1923.

WITNESSES J. HOMER DENTAL ARTICULATOR 0R RELATOR Filed Oct. 1, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet IN V E IV TOR Z/aSAFP/{A O YEE Fotented Aug. 7, @23

not

enter @lihlfih.

JUSEIPH HOMER, F BOSTQN, MASSACHUSETTS.

DENTAL ARTECUILATQR @llt RELATUEL Application filed @etoher l, 1321. Serial Filo. secret;

To all whom it more; concern:

Be it known thut ll, Josnrn Homer, ecitizen of the United States, and a. resident of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, hove invented it new and Improved Dental Articulotor or later, of which the following is e full, clear, and

- exact description.

This invention relntes to dented urticuln tors and has for on object the provision of menus in connection with on orticuletor whereby the movement or u. jaw of the orticuletor can he ceused to follow e. predetermined curve or path epproximsting eny desired movement of s set of teeth or neturul yew.

Another object resides in the provision of means whereby the movable juw may be connected to the erticuletor frame in the usual Q manner or can be very readily changed to essociete it withthe moons for adjusted to at much greater dee than hitherto.

A still further object resides in the pro-- vision of mesnswhereby in making s. given set oi teeth the operotor can form on impression of the movement of the teeth with respect to the other jnw which can be preserved in o. permanent fixed form for future use end thereby enable other teeth to he made in it much simpler manner.

Another object resides in the provision of on erticulator jaw which is shaped substontiellly 'simiiler to the stsndord shapes oi models used thereon whereby the manipulation of the orticulator is mode easier.

A further object resides in the particular construction and urrengement of ports which are hereinafter described and clued end shown in the accompanying drawings.

This invention is related to and constitutes on improvement on the nrticuletor shown in my United d-tetes Potent No. 1 377,075, for dentel erticuletor, patented Mey s, 1921.

This invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which-- Figure l is a plan view of the ertic'uletor;

Figure 2 is a front elevetion;

Figure 3 is n verticel section on the line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure t is o plan view of the lower or supporting portion of the orticulstor; 1Fd l gence 5 is at section on the line 5-5 or? 1 .2; igure e is e plen view of e, port of the orticuletor showing perticulerly the uuxiliery beer-m5; portions in which on impression is forms Figure 7 is o. side-elevation of on orticulator showing theupper jew disposed in connection with the euxilinry beer portion; Fire 8 is o. detail view of e. portion of the jew;

Figure 9 is o, perspective view of one of the auxiliary besrin portions;

Figure 10 is s ertiul side view of o. moditied form of erticulntor;

Figure 11 is e port-id plen view of the modification; end 1 1 Figure 12 is e perspective view or" e modified beering portion.

The drawings are illustrative of referred forms of my invention, although it'should be understood that vorious changes in the form end construction oi the parts and the kind of materials used may be made and still retain the device within the scope of the invention as described end cleimed.

The invention comprises on ertieuletor having at lower stationery jaw portion in which suitable apertures such es 2 end 3 ere disposed. These opertures are provided with doping side wells, such as t, which odept eny impression or other mess of ms teriel disposed on the jaw to be retained thereon more firmly. The rear end of this plote or your 1 is provided with substantially vertically extending leg portionsfi and ii, A crosshor 7 extends between the leg portions 5 and ii to form or strong, rigid struo ture. To the upper end of the leg portions or plate member 8 is pivoted. This plots -member is shown in 8. The plate menr ice . 8 to the leg portions and 6. This pivotal connection, as shown in Fig. 3, is the'usual connection for articulators and permits a regular straight line movement at the upper 1s jaw with respect to the lower jaw.

upperjaw is in the form .of a second plate 13 provided with an aperture, such as'14, having sloping walls 15 for the pn as above mentioned. The rear end of this p ate 13 is provided with a slot 16 which extends longitudinally of the plate and in the 'nor-' mal position of the plate is disposed at right angles to a similanslot 17 in the plate-8, which extends transversely across the front portion of the plate 8. The rear end of the plate 13 is normally disposed over the front portion of the plate 8; a threaded bolt, such as 18, extends therethrough, and a winged,

nut 19 co-operates with the threaded bolt whereb the plate 13 and the plate 8 may be rigi ly connected in any desired adjusted relative position. As shown in Fig. 3, the lower portion 20 of the bolt 18 ma be square in passing through the slot 1 in plate 8 so as to prevent turning of the bolt.

In Fig. 1 the lug portions 9 and 10 of the plate 8 are pivotally connected by the pin 12 to pivot points 21 and 22 disposed along the upper rtions of the legs 5 and 6. owever,-inig. 3 the extreme u per ends of the legs 5 and 6 are shown rovided with auxiliary bearing casings or c ambers 23 and 24 the walls of which are slightly tapered and which are provided with apertures, such as 25, to receive a pin such as the pin 12. From an examination of Figs. 1, 4 and 6 it will also be observed that these casings are 0 n at the inner sides thereof and that the e ges of the open face of the casin are ofi'seta'nd out of line with the outer en of the lug portions 9 and 10. In Fig. 6 there is shown a mass of material, such as 26, disposed in the bearing casings 23 and 24 and into which the lug portions 9 and 10 are 1 1%. 10 11 d 12 I h h n an I aves own a projecting. This material as shown forms an auxiliary bearing portion for thelugs 9 and 10, and in the achievement of one ob ect of the invention it is made of some plastic material for apurpose'hereinafter to be described.

In the operation of forming a set of teeth, it will be assumed that a definite model or set of teeth is mounted on the lower jaw, that a tooth or set of teeth has been in the process of manufacture, and that a model or other device is mounted on the upper jaw. Itis thepurpose of the invention to be able to provide means whereby the manipulation of the upper jaw may be controlled and caused to follow a de ite path in accordance with well known movements of teeth in their daily functions. Consequently, assuming that the lug portions 9 and 10 are extending into the mass of plastic material a mascara such as 26, if the operator graspsthe upper aw in his hands and manipulates it in any predetermined manner, causing it to follow a definite line of movement, naturally the lug portions 10, being the pivot points of" the aw, will be rmltt'ed to follow a'predetermined path y reasonof the fact that the mass 26 forming the bearing portion for the lug rtions is of plastic material, which will yield and permit this movement.

The, impression formed in the lastic matel rial by the movement of the pivoted lugs 9 and 10 can-if'desired be preserved by any well known process in a hard set model, or Z the plastic impression can be laid away for future use, so that if in the future it is desired to cause the movement of a jaw in a similar manner it is merely necessary to insort the pro er impressions in the auxiliary bearing caslngs 23 and 24 whereupon the manipulation of the aw as previously conducted will cause t e' desired movement.

However, the rovision of apertures 25 permit a pin, suc as 12, to be inserted within other impressions 26-to rigidl and pivotally connect the upper 'aw wit the casings 23 and 24 if desired or some purpose or other.

The leg members 5 andt are each provided with laterally'extending wing portions 27 to the outer ends 28 of which leterally ivoted arms 29 are connected. These pivote arms are adapted to receive any suitable device, such as an im ression or mold of the lateral contours o the teeth, and can be moved to and from the upper and lower jaws for the purpose of determining and adjusting and shafiin the teeth as they are being formed. ac of these wing member is provided with a projecting portion 30 which'is disposed to lie in not the path of part of thelateral arms 29 and limit the inward movement thereof. This will be apparent from a consideration of tion of the recess 33 with the projection 32 will prevent the angular movement of the impression 34 within thev casin 31. In other respects the operation of .t modification is similar to the operation of the device above described.

It will, therefore, be observed thatI have I provided a mechanism in which the manipu-' ation of a jaw of an articulator'can be caused to produce an impression oi a desired movement, which impression maybe preserved in any well known manner so l that. this movemen can he du licated at any future time. is means or so pro- 'iliary means, readil acetate the use of which does not destroy all the.

other functions of the articulator established by common practice. Furthermore, the partlcular range of adjustment of the upper jaw permits a much wider range of use for this particular articulator than is possible with one in which the upper jaw is not so adjustable.

What I claim is:

-1. A dental articulator which comprises a stationary jaw, supporting lugs connected thereto, bearing casings connected to said lug, a movable jaw having lugs to extend into the bearin casing, and a bearing memher for each or said lugs, the bearing members disposed in said casings and formed of plastlc material, whereby the lugs of the movable jaw can produce an impression in the plastic material of a predetermined movement of the movable jaw in response to the desire of the operator.

2. A connection for dental articulators between a stationary frame and a movable mold-supporting jaw associated therewith, which comprises a portion of plastic material to receive portions of the movable jaw, the plasticity of said material permitting said portions of the movable jaw to be moved in a predetermined manner whereby the movement of the jaws can simulate the movement of the human. jaws.

3. A bearing member for dental articulators having a stationary and a movable jaw, which com rises a body of plastic material disposed between the stationary and movable jaws at the point of connection, said body of plastic material receiving portions of the movable jaw, the plastic1t of the material permitting a movement 0 the connectin portion of the movable jaw whereby definite movements of said jaw are made possible.

4. A bearing member for dental articulators having stationary and movable members, which comprises a body of plastic ma.- terial having a recess therein to receive a portion of the movable member.

JOSEPH HOMER. 

